Hi, I'm comedian Mae Martin, and you're watching Speed
Date with Xtra Magazine.
You're competing on Last One Laughing Canada this season.
How does it feel to go up against these legends like Tom
Green?
I had a lot of, you know, big plans going in
and I had strategy in my head and it all kind
of went out the window, because it turns out that I'm like
a sort of giggly 13-year-old.
That's the vibe. Like, you know, trying not to laugh.
10 of Canada's best comedians will be trapped in this room
together with one common goal.
Try and make each other laugh.
I'm ready to compete. This is an epic battle.
So I really got hysterical quite early on.
And also being around Tom Green and Colin
Mochrie.
I didn't know this is for charity. To be
or not to be.
Those guys are very silly,
very funny, and I grew up watching them.
So it was, yeah, it was a nightmare, in
terms of, like it was really fun, but it was that
awful feeling of trying not to laugh.
What's it like being non-binary and queer in comedy?
The main thing is it's getting a lot better and
more common. And definitely when I started in
the early 2000s, it
was still, the butt of the joke was still
queer identity. So it's definitely changed a lot.
We're moving in the right direction. It's so light this
show. I mean, it's so silly.
So yeah, that's always the best way to lower people's
defenses and demystify things, like
non-binary identity.
Hopefully, you know, some people who don't
know much about that stuff will give it a Google
after.
Who's your favorite stand up these days?
Right now, I'd say my favorite stand up to watch is
a guy called John Kearns.
If I was waiting for a train, and I saw a dog driving it, I'd get on.
But also Tig Notaro.
Good evening, hello, I have cancer, how are you?
Sabrina Jalees.
It has been such a great time for women and such a
terrible time for men who have been doing weird shit with
their dicks.
There's tons. Yeah.
What is the biggest difference between British and Canadian
comedy?
Scale? Like, there's way more
comedy clubs in the U.K.
than in Canada. But in terms of like tone, I think they're
really similar. Both cultures hate ourselves and
look inward and make fun of ourselves instead of being
particularly aggressive.
So, yeah, I think they have a lot in common.
Talk a bit about your friendship with Elliot Page.
I know you guys got matching tattoos last summer.
I just feel so lucky to have him as a friend.
Yeah, I just saw, I just was in L.A.
and we did karaoke together, and that was
that was really fun. He has a wonderful voice and
yeah, he's a dream.
Yeah, I think we're going to get more tattoos together.
That's how I show my love, which is bad,
because I'm covered in tattoos.
What advice do you have for young, queer and non-binary
comedians who are just starting out?
Do as much as you can, spend as much time as you can
in that environment, soaking up comedy and there's no
substitute for stage time.
And also don't feel you have to explain or
apologize for who you are as soon as you get on stage, I
think. Give the audience the benefit of the doubt and
hopefully they'll rise to it.
You know?
Who is your dream celebrity
crush?
Right now? OK, I'll do list, a rapid list.
Jamie Dornan, Javier Bardem,
Megan Mullally, Bette Midler, Aubrey
Plaza.
Harper. This is Abby. Abby Is my orphan.
Roommate. We, I am an orphan, but we live together
as friends.
There's so many. There's so many.
Yeah.
What are the projects in the works?
Well, I just finished filming season two of the
flight attendant on HBO with Kaley Cuoco, so
that is coming out soon.
I feel like I'm losing my mind. How did you
think you're getting away with any of this?
Oh god.
Yeah. A new TV thing in development, a couple of movies,
a bunch of stuff, a bunch of stuff, but mainly I'm just
excited to see people's reaction to this and then also
go back on tour. And I've got this new stand up hour.
So yeah, I'm busy.
Are you not alive?
There's no way that I'm safe.
Fortunately, I'm not a fan of comedy.
I am in trouble. So they're really watching?
Yes, they're really watching, there's like 400 cameras in
there.